What is the primary purpose of the Carlton Home & School Club?

CHSC REPLY: The Carlton Home & School Club is a parent run non-profit organization. All parents of students at our school are part of the home & school club. As parents, we work together to hold fundraisers and raise the needed funds to help support the education of our children. There is a gap between what our school budget (government & tax funds) pays for and what education we would like our children to have. Without the Home & School Club our students may go without Music, Art, and Clay programs. With fundraising dollars, we are also able to offer many other supplemental funds to teachers and extra programs that our children love each year (running club, garden club, project cornerstone & more!).

How can I find out how a school fundraiser did or how our budget is looking throughout the school year?

CHSC REPLY: Because we are a non-profit, our budget is posted on our website and budget vs actuals are updated each month after our HSC meetings. Our meetings dates/times are also posted on our calendar for anyone who would like to attend.

It seems that HSC is funding programs that the school district should be funding – eg. teacher stipends/allocations, paper supplies, music, and art. Why is this?

CHSC REPLY: CHSC has made requests to our principal(s) and the district to pay for these types of items. We have been told in the past that the budget isn’t there and therefore CHSC has stepped up to support our teachers and students in these areas.

How does a budget surplus work? Why does the HSC spend down a surplus? Why do we need to keep a certain amount of funds reserved?

CHSC REPLY: The CHSC budget is a projection of our income and expenses for the year.  A normal budget reserve is around 20% of the overall expenses. CHSC must always keep a reserve of money just in case our fundraising efforts do not yield the income we are expecting.

Our goal is to give appropriate funds to the programs and activities that are valued by the Carlton community and to raise an equal amount to fund those expenses. If CHSC raises money over our budget, the community must decide on how those extra funds will be spent.

How are the CHSC fundraisers selected?

CHSC REPLY: There are many different factors that are considered before adding a fundraiser to the school calendar. Some of the main areas we look at are:

Timing – When will it fit in the calendar and what else is going on in the school year.

Volunteers – Do we have anyone to lead the fundraiser?

Effort vs. Profit – How much man power/effort is needed vs how much the fundraiser will make.

Facilities – Do we have the space to accommodate the fundraiser on campus or do we need to have the fundraiser offsite.

What fits our community

How Do Buy-In Parties Work?

CHSC REPLY: 

Buy In Parties can be very profitable for Carlton HSC. Madres and Margaritas was started several years ago when 4 families decided to host a moms night out. This particular party has raised up to $2000 in prior years for the HSC.

Typically our Buy-In Parties are paid for (donated) by the hosting families and all ticket sales proceeds of the party go to Home & School Club. Tickets are normally sold during silent auction but can be sold at anytime of the year.

If a family would like to host/donate a buy-in party you can contact HSC (fundraising@carltonhsc.org) to discuss your idea and we can help set-up ticket sales for the event.

How is the music curriculum selected? Can we have more musical instrumental instruction incorporated in addition to the recorders?  

CHSC REPLY: The music program is selected by the principal and teachers.

Can we add new fundraisers that other schools in our district have done?

CHSC REPLY: We certainly can look into doing new fundraisers year to year. We continue to focus on our Walk-A-Thon because it has been very successful over the years and has brought in half of our fundraising dollars each year. We look for new ideas on how to improve this event and make it fun for our students and families to attend. Basket Bingo has also become an event our kids look forward to year to year.  

We welcome any ideas of new fundraisers to consider and we of course encourage new volunteers to support ideas and drive things to fruition.  

What is CHSC not responsible for?

CHSC REPLY: While CHSC funds and coordinates a broad range of vital programs, there are some things that are outside the mission of CHSC, including coordinating and funding after-school activities/classes, making changes to school curriculum, and hiring teachers and support staff. CHSC can support the curriculum financially but we cannot make changes to the school day structure or how many times a programs is instructed each week, etc.

Do any of the CHSC funds go towards teacher lounge supplies?

CHSC REPLY:  The CHSC hosts one lunch for the teachers every two months and provides with snacks during teacher appreciation week and parent-teachers conference weeks if budget permits. CHSC also pays for the beverages in the teachers' lounge (if budget permits year to year).